Hong Xin rapped her fingers on her large redwood chair. These two dozen women were the remnants of the Red Dust Pavilion in Gold Leaf City. Or at least, those who were stationed in the pavilion itself. Some had long black hair and white skin, the generally accepted vision of beauty, while others had shorter, sometimes colored hair and bronzed skin. Everything a man could look for was present on these women.
“Have we verified how many courtesans were stationed in Gold Leaf City prior to our arrival?” Hong Xin asked. She’d originally thought they could catch them all in one net. In hindsight, that had been naïve of her. An intelligence agency would never put all their eggs in one basket.
“Roughly three times as many as were stationed here,” Mistress Huang replied. “We’ll have a more accurate count once we verify their documentation.”
The documentation she spoke of was a mismatched pile of jade slips, paper sheets, and scrolls, all shoved into a small filing room using a cryptic system. She had no doubt there was a method to the madness, but finding it would take time.
Hong Xin clenched her jaw as she thought of the implications. Between seventy and eighty beautiful seductresses were out there, using their carefully honed skills to manipulate the local populace and extract useful information. For each one, there were likely dozens of informants and at least a few loyal thralls ready to sacrifice their lives at their mistress’s request. That wasn’t even counting their employers.
Hong Xin stood up and expanded her chilling aura. A thin layer of frost began forming on her regal red-and-gold dress. “Congratulations to all of you,” she said to the frightened women. “By sheer luck, you happened to be present when I, Headmistress Xin, decided to inspect the pavilion’s branch in Gold Leaf City. As such, you will be the first to swear your undying loyalty.”
Silence. The cluster of calculating women chose to bide their time instead of speaking up. It was a wise decision in most situations, but not this one. At Hong Xin’s signal, the enslaved Mistress Meng held her hand up. A frozen prison appeared around one of the women, starting at her feet. It crawled up her body, completely covering it in painful crystals. The icy coffin ended in a sharp icy blade that barely touched the woman’s neck and drew a single drop of blood.
Hong Xin walked up to the woman. She looked down into her fearful eyes and summoned an item in her hand. All the other women gasped when they saw the blue orb. She felt their emotions plunge and dread fill their hearts, flushing out their earlier defiance. Any who’d thought she was an illegitimate and powerless usurper now realized they were mistaken. They’d tasted the orb’s control, and their subservience to it ran deep within their bones.
The woman in the prison, however, reacted differently from the others. Her eyes turned cold with icy hatred. “I’d rather die than get sworn in again,” she spat, fighting against Hong Xin’s dousing magic.
But beneath these brave words, Hong Xin sensed fear. Fear for her life and fear for other things. Slender threads of karma joined the cold-hearted woman to many individuals in the city. There were people she cared about in Gold Leaf, people she couldn’t live without. She was likely seeking death to protect them.
Hong Xin thought for a moment, then touched the icy prison. The restraints on one of the woman’s hands melted away, but the rest of the prison remained. The icy dagger stayed firmly in place. It dug into her tender neck even more viciously now that Hong Xin was closer.
“I can feel it,” Hong Xin whispered, stroking the woman’s cheeks. “I can feel their connections.” The woman shivered. “I can feel friendly connections, even family. So amazing for a vicious person like you to have friends, people you care for. It would be a pity if anything happened to them.”
The woman’s eyes widened. They welled up with tears that froze and dropped to the cold marble floor.
“I won’t do anything to them if you swear yourself to me,” Hong Xin continued. “It will be just like before, but better. Believe me when I say I’m a far more merciful master than my predecessor.” She gestured to Mistress Meng, Mistress Shan, and Mistress Yuan, who were dutifully guarding the chamber. “They tried to kill me, but I don’t mistreat them. I know they want me dead, but that doesn’t matter to me. If they don’t act on it, such small indulgences can be forgiven. I want your obedience, not your heart and soul.”
Hong Xin twitched her finger. The icy spike forced the woman’s chin upward, and blood began to pour out more liberally. It pained her to do this, but she knew the weak and tender part of her would be unproductive in this situation. “Swear to me or die along with them. It’s your choice.”
The woman grimaced in pain as she reached out toward the blue orb. “I, Du Ai, swear on my frozen heart to serve Hong Xin to the best of my ability, unless certain provisions are breached,” she said, some of her prior bravery surfacing. “I will do everything as instructed and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. In exchange, Hong Xin will swear to do her utmost to protect my family and dependents and provide for them should I be unable to do so. These dependents are my husband, Ling Baoshan, my children, Ling Xi and Ling Ye, and my friend, Hou Li.”
Then she let go of the orb and glared at Hong Xin. There was little doubt that the woman would rather impale herself than agree to any other terms.
“How brave,” Hong Xin said, kneeling and looking the woman straight in the eyes. “Despite being practically devoid of emotion, you’ve still managed to nurture some level of loyalty and caring in that ruthless,
